People-focused knowledge management

The Importance of Implicit Learning
As indicated earlier, implicit learning provides an important learn-
ing mode (Cleeremans 2003). People often do not know they are
learning implicitly when they tackle slightly different problems,
perform work in a different way, or observe something that is unfa-
miliar. When encountering interesting or otherwise noteworthy situ-
ations, people learn implicitly from the experience. Such learnings 
may be captured in “raw form” in episodic memory but are frequently
processed further to derive an understanding of what they mean.
Implicit learning becomes particularly prevalent when we repeatedly
experience the same situation over and over again, or experience dif-
ferent situations that are similar to some degree. In these cases, we
nonconsciously develop new insights and ideas, and we even see pos-
sibilities for innovation based on greater understanding of underlying
patterns and other aspects of the material. Even when learning con-
sciously (as when being taught), we are not aware of how we implic-
itly develop important insights beyond the explicit information we
receive. Another important aspect of implicit learning is the role it
plays in building metaknowledge and metacognitive capabilities.
The Personal and Enterprise Knowledge Evolution Cycle
One model for building personal knowledge is indicated in Figure
3-11. New insights, ideas, and innovations begin their life as glimpses
— tacit, subliminal, vulnerable, and hard-to-explain knowledge.
When the ideas are better established, they become idealistic and
uncritical visions or paradigms that point to opportunities, but they
are not ready to be defended or used. Later, the new knowledge may
be systematized as different abstractions as metaknowledge, general
principles, schemata, scripts, methodologies, or operational models
— and perhaps as theoretical knowledge. After practical use and
testing, it is ready to become pragmatic decision making and factual
knowledge. After steady and long-term use, the knowledge is inter-
nalized and automatized to become automatic routine working
knowledge that we apply naturally and often without being aware 
of it.
The model of the personal knowledge evolution cycle model pre-
sented here has five stages that depict how knowledge, as it matures
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People-Focused Knowledge Management
and becomes better established in a person’s mind, migrates from
barely perceived ideas or notions to be better understood and useful.
The five stages are as follows.